Summer SAVY, Session 1 Day 1, Witty Word Play (1st-2nd)
Today in Witty Word Play, students were introduced to early forms of writing. They learned that the earliest forms of communication were not writing, but simple cave drawings and paintings. We looked at real examples of cave drawings and how drawings, pictures, and symbols became simplified and abstract. Students learned that one symbol stood for one word and examined several examples of cuneiform writing by the Sumerians in Mesopotamia.
Our learners used magnetic letters to create words and discussed what they already know and are wondering about words. Word Wizard by Catheryn Falwell was read and discussed. This led to meaningful discourse about how changing the order of letters can create new words. We read the story, On Beyond Zebra, by Dr. Seuss and then students completed a literature preassessment to help with planning for the rest of the week.
We also explored what makes a system and developed generalization statements about systems. This included looking at the system of a school cafeteria and its elements (parts), boundaries, interactions, inputs, and outputs. Students applied these components to determine the system of a fishbowl. The generalizations we developed today about systems include that they have parts (elements), boundaries, inputs, and outputs, and the elements interact with each other.
Students took home a sticky note with a few cuneiform symbols to see if you can tell what they were communicating. Did you figure it out? We can’t wait to find out tomorrow!